Forte said the latest statistics show homicides on the slowing pace in Kansas City since 2009.

"It's too early for any premature celebration," he said. "It's early, but it gives us hope we're headed in the right direction."

Forte wrote a post in his blog that said "We are making a positive difference."

"The message I'm trying to get out is that we're making some progress. We're not where we need to be, but we're making some progress," he said.

However, not all crime rates in the city are down. Statistics released Tuesday showed the category of crimes against persons rose in 2012 after a slight dip the year before. Crimes against property, including thefts and stolen cars, also showed a slight rise in 2012.

"I want the numbers to be up," Forte said. "Because now, people are reporting it now. Every time I talk to people I tell them, 'Tell us what's going on,' so we know where to put the resources."

He said there are ways to measure improvement outside of the statistics.

"We've had homicides before where hundreds of people were witnesses, and not a single person comes down to talk to us. And that's how you measure it. It's not always numbers," he said.

There have been two major shifts in tactics in recent months. Federal, state and local authorities have combined their efforts to crack down on crime, including indictments against more than 60 people last month. Forte said he is also concentrating on four specific violent crime hot spots and flooding those areas with additional officers.

"The hotspot policing always made sense to me," said Kansas City Councilman John Sharp. "In other words, you take the areas where the crime is, and that's where you put the cops."

Convincing the public that things are changing may take time.

"I think it's going to be tough to get a handle on it,' said Nina Tallman of Kansas City. "Because you're going to have to start at the bottom, where the crime starts."

"I believe that if we give these programs time, we'll see maybe the Chief is optimistic in advance of where the rest of us are, but in time, we'll see changes that we're going to notice," said Kansas City Mayor Sly James.